Morel and Seddon, circa 1827-28, the design attributed to A.W. N. Pugin

The square red velvet upholstered cushion above a blind tracery and pollard oak-veneered base, the underside of the seat cushion branded WINDSOR CASTLE VR / ROOM 223 / 1866.

Height 18 inches (45.7 cm), width 17 inches (43.1 cm) square.

Provenance: Royal & Noble, Sotheby's London, January 7-14, 2021, lot 168.

Property of a Gentleman

One of the ’28 Gothic window stools of light & dark oak’ supplied by Morel & Seddon to Windsor Castle between 4 October 1827 and 7 July 1828 for The Long Gallery at Windsor Castle.

Literature: H. Roberts, For the King's Pleasure, London, 2001, p. 239 (for the Morel and Seddon account) and pp. 59 & 253, figs. 36 & 302 (for four of the stools from the suite which remain in the Royal Collection, three of which are illustrated in the Beaufette or Octagon Room).

A George IV carved and pollard oak stool by Morel and Seddon, the design attributed to a young A.W. N. Pugin, circa 1827-28, from the celebrated suite of 'Gothic' furnishings supplied for Windsor Castle. Executed in light and dark oak with blind tracery, the stools were originally fitted with seats stuffed in fine canvas and upholstered in scarlet-ground English tapestry with silk medallions. Designed for the Long Gallery (Room 225) by Sir Jeffry Wyatville, the suite formed part of the richly furnished interiors recorded in John Nash's 1846 watercolors. Morel & Seddon drew upon designers from the Puhin workshop, and by March 1827, the teenage A.W. Pugin was engaged to produce working designs for the Gothic furniture at Windsor, having first documented furnishings at Carlton House prior to their relocation. Ten stools from the suite remain in the Royal Collection (RCIN 20447), while the present example bears inventory marks from the 1866 Windsor Castle inventory undertaken by Holland & Sons, reflecting its movement within the palace. Further examples are recorded at Temple Newsam and in the market, including those sold at Christie's New York, October 17, 1987, lot 56, Phillips London, February 12, 1991, lot 146, and Christie's London, April 23, 1998, lot 50.